OHIO) AGRICULTURE av. on sean vey ees, * *} BTV Gis SN La NORTON S. TOWNSHEND, M. D. father of Agricultural Education in America. Born: Clay Coaton, England, r815. Died: Columbus, Ohio, 1895. HISTORY OF OHIO AGRICULTURE A TREATISE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VARIOUS LINES AND PHASES OF FARM LIFE IN OHIO BY CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT, M. Sc. Professor of Agriculture, New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts ILLUSTRATED CONCORD, N. H.: The Mumford Hress. 1900. Teds LIBZABY OF CONGRESS, One Cory Paseven VEC. 10 1902 SOPvRIGHT ENTRY Copyright, 1900 By RUMFORD PRINTING COMPANY, CONCORD, N. H. TO Thomas Forsyth hunt INSPIRING TEACHER AND CONSTANT FRIEND CONTENTS Introduction Chapter I. IT. BUT. IV. XII. XIE, Soil and Ghvaite Indian Agriculture People of Ohio Canals, Railroads, ae Tare pikes . Principal Farm Sees . Horticulture and Forestry . . The Horse Stock in Ohio . . Cattle Development in Ohio «. . Breeds of Sheep in Ohio . Introduction and Development of Some Breeds of Swine . Introduction and Development of Farm Implements and Machinery Dairying in Ohio . Agricultural Education . 105 i212 LST I51 AKG 189 ILLUSTRATIONS / f Norton’'S, Townshend °° *2)%..3° 4°: Frontispiece * The First Amencan Reaper 920. Page 164” A Model ‘Creamery ) +2: fi ke Page 186 “ Townshend Agricultural Hall get Page 202 ¥ PREFACE In the preparation of the pages which follow, the writer has endeavored to trace the develop- ment of one side of the industrial life in Ohio. It is to the farmer, more than to any other, that this state owes her greatness. In recognition of this fact, the writer has endeavored to present a readable account of the progress and evolution of the agriculture in its various phases in the state. A chapter has been devoted to canals and railroads, because with the advent of the former the real agricul- ture began. It is to bring together some of the historic agricultural facts now scattered through a thousand places that this little book appears. Co Wee ity ih Av Aur ied bly d INTRODUCTION In 1650 Ohio was an unbroken forest. Its waters on the north and south had occasionally been furrowed by the adventurous craft of civil- ized men; but its borders possessed neither a hamlet nor a house. Only its interior showed signs of life of man, and that in the savage state. ‘Tradition only tells us of the beauty of the wild scenery. That must have been a pleasant view to the Jesuit missionary Jean de Brefeuf, in 1640, as he coasted along Lake Erie’s bank in the waters calm and sublime, typical of the solemn hum that marks the Atlan- tic roll. Or as La Salle, in 1660, moved slowly down the stream on the south, majestically along, noiseless as the foot of time, and as re- sistless. No wonder he used haste to take pos- session, after beholding the tall trees, covered with vines of the grape and of wild roses, from near the ground to topmost branches. He saw, too, the beautiful shrubbery and wild flowers, tall grasses, and the great profusion of flower- ing plants in full bloom, of every shade of color. We do not wonder as thus he floated down the stream he saw that truly the country and the silvery river was fair and beautiful; with this thought in mind, he exclaimed: “La belle 9 L[utro- duction rivere!” The Indians, too, felt the same pleas- ure in the beauty of the scene, and long before the Wyandots had named the river by the ex- pression, O, he, zuh; which meaning applied by the French, means great, grand, and fair to look at, hence the name of Ohio for the river and the state. The history of the agriculture of Ohio is free from the startling sensations which arise from a Perry on Lake Erie, or the policies of a Vallan- digham, or the tragedies and comedies of social life. Ohio’s agriculture is deep and calm; its history quiet, but marked with the ever-increas- ing steps of progress. As the sailor takes his bearings to keep his course, and from every view he sees nothing but water, so it is with the agriculture of Ohio,— a broad ocean of uncollected facts, one bearing here, another there, often uncertain and unre- liable, extending through a period of a century in length. But we see a few landmarks here and there that are valuable aids in directing our course. Ohio agriculture may be divided into the fol- lowing periods : Prehistoric or Indian agriculture, from pre- historic times to 1788. Early agriculture, 1788-1832. Modern agriculture, 1832-—present. 10 Our present period is experimental; can we not within another half century give place toa fourth period, and term it scientific agriculture, with date from about 1890? In this treatise we need not go into the his- tory of the boundary of Ohio. It is true thata few straggling settlers lived in Ohio, but her industrial history begins properly with the Mari- etta settlement. ‘Those settlers did not live by manufacturing, nor by mining, nor by hunting and fishing; but the growing of crops and the tilling of the soil at once took a prominent place in the work. ‘Trees were soon cut and raised into houses. Protection started, the area thus cleared gave place for sowing, and cultivation and harvesting at once followed. Little is known of the agriculture of this period. In fact, there was little history, and nothing of importance in any way occurred to those first settlers prior to 1800. ‘There was no means of transportation. Shipbuilding began about this time, and an outlet for the crop surplus was now slightly possible. But the agriculture of Ohio cannot be said to have commenced as an industry at a period before 1832. The Ohio canal was at this time completed ; the facility for transportation by that means was the com- mencement of the era of improvement in this state. The accessibility to market induced Il Intro- duction Intro- duction every landowner to pay greater attention to the cultivation of the soil. Up to this time there had been no reason nor demand for improvement. Now an occupation for thousands had been made possible. The necessity gave rise to invention and improve- ment, and henceforth there was to begin a de- velopment and improvement in live stock and implements that was to make Ohio one of the foremost agricultural states of America. From that time forward prosperity followed, and the entire state rapidly grew in population and wealth. Log cabins disappeared, and commo- dious frame dwellings took their place. Towns sprang into existence, with shops, schools, and churches. Farm products found a ready cash sale, and at remunerative prices. Thus agri- culture proper had its beginning. The oppor- tunity was now afforded for the virgin earth to have developed its riches and beauty. 12 CHAPTER I SOIL AND CLIMATE On the surface, within the limits of Ohio, is almost everywhere a rich vegetable mould, made by the decay and putrefac- tion of vegetable substances. Along the Ohio river and all its larger tributaries in this state are wide intervals of rich alluvial soils, on which originally a thick growth of gigantic forest trees flourished. In the hilly regions there are two kinds of soil— the silicious and the argilaceous. ‘The former is made by the disintegration of the sandstone, near the surface; the latter by the clay slate which exists there. And where it is quite hilly these two kinds often become blended together. Nature has pro- vided us the clay for bricks and the sand in which to mould them. The interior of the state and the country bordering on Lake Erie are generally level, and in some places marshy. From one quarter to one third of the state, com- prehending the eastern and southeastern part, bordering on the Ohio river, is gen- 13 Soil and erally hilly and broken. The lands on the OES Ohio, and several of its tributaries, have great fertility. On both sides of the Scioto and the two Miamis are the most extensive bodies of rich and level land in the state. On the headwaters of the Muskingum and the Scioto, and between the Scioto and the two Miamis, are extensive prairies, some of them at one time low and marshy, produc- ing a great quantity of farm products of all kinds. Prior to its present claimation to agriculture, this area produced a great quantity of coarse grass, from two to five feet high; other parts of the prairie are elevated and dry, with a very fertile soil, though they have sometimes been called barrens. The height of the land which divides the waters which fall into the Ohio from those which fall into Lake Erie was the most marshy originally of any of the state; while the land on the margins of the rivers is generally dry.! The southeastern section, over one third of the state, is dependent upon its original rocks for its soil fertility. These being mostly of sandstone origin, afford little 1 Sherman & Smith’s Gazetteer of the United States. 14 fertility either to the hills themselves or to Soand the valleys over which the wash is carried. ©” They are the only native soils we have, coming either directly from the rocks that underlie them or that rise above them in the boundaries of the valleys and uplands. The rocks thus being disintegrated vary in composition, and consequently the soils are ‘‘characterized by considerable ine- quality and by abrupt changes.” All have a fair degree of fertility, and those derived from the underbed of limestone are not surpassed by any in the state. Of this driftless soil region there is another class less productive. Forests and fruit produc- tion have flourished to a considerable de- gree in this region. ‘The chestnut and the chestnut oak are partial to this class of soils, and vineyards and orchards have done remarkably well upon them. This class of soils are derived from Devonian shales. Another class of native soils are what are known as the Waverly group and lower coal measures. They are popularly known as the cheap land belt. Forests do well upon this area also. Some of our highest quality of timber has been pro- 15 Soiland duced from this type. Dr. Orton says that Cimate these soils if farmed in an exhaustive man- ner will not last long, but if cattle and sheep are raised, a system of grass and grain rotation followed and the addition of a ton or two of artificial fertilizer made, a farmer can do well upon them.! Writing of our drift soils, Dr. Orton says, ‘* The drift soils are by far the most important, alike from their greater area, and their intrinsic excellence. Formed by the commingling of the glacial waste of all the formations to the north of them, over which the ice has passed, they always pos- sess considerable variety of composition, but still in many cases they are strongly colored by the formation underneath them. Whenever a structure of uniform composi- tion has a broad outcrop across the line of glacial advance, the drift beds that. cover its southern portions will be found to have been derived in large part from the forma- tion itself, and will thus resemble native or sedentary soils. Western Ohio is under- laid with silurian limestones, and the drift is consequently limestone drift. 1 Howe’s History of Ohio, Vol. I, page 87. 16 The soil over much more than one half Sol and of the state is of foreign origin,’ that is, has sir not been derived from the decomposition of the underlying rocks, but has been trans- ported, by drift agencies, frequently from a great distance. Over the northern part of the state the most conspicuous element in the drift deposit is clay. We have in that section the tenacious clayey soil which has given character to the original forest and to _ the system of agriculture which we have to-day ; the cultivation of grasses, the rais- ing of stock, wheat, and the manufacture of butter and cheese being the most success- ful. On the Western Reserve, Newberry says, ‘‘ The underlying rocks are frequently highly arenaceous, — conglomerate and sandstone,—yet this is the dairy of the West, for over nearly all parts of the sur- face a sheet of drift clay has been spread, of such continuity and thickness as com- pletely to modify the character both of veg- etation and agriculture. Along the south- ern range the drift deposits are more or less composed of gravel and sand.” ? 1 Howe’s History of Ohio, Vol. I, page 87. Geology of Ohio, Vol. I, page 23. 2 Geology of Ohio, Vol. I. 17 Sow and Climate Some considerable part of the state is embedded with coal. Here the soil is affected by the underground bed. The rocks are sandstone shales, fire clays, and coal and limestones, which give local diver- sity to the soil. Where the ridges are cov- ered with sandstone, the soils are light and porous and have little agricultural value. The chestnut and the wild grape grow abun- dantly on this class. Frequently, however, the ridges are sheeted with limestone, as in some sections fine crops of corn and wheat are produced on the summits of the hills. In the valleys of the Muskingum, Scioto, and the Miami the soil is deep black allu- vial,which yields, year after year, abundant harvests of our most important agricultural crops. Inthe Miami valley we have our highest type of fertile lands, occasioned by the drift of limestones and the underlying calcareous gravels. In the western and northwestern parts of the state there is a type of prairie land, covering a considerable extent of territory, originally marshy, but of recent years ditches and tiles have converted this waste land into productive farms. 18 CLIMATE. Soil and ‘ : } . Climate Ohio has a variable climate. From its geographical situation it is necessarily one of moderate extremes. ‘The state is swept over by the southwest trades and the north- west polar winds in their alternatives. The southwest winds bring in the rains, and during the summer months often of a strongly cyclonic character. The summers of southern Ohio and the winters of the northern part are often intemperate, but the spring and autumn, in both cases, compen- sate for the excess. The equable temper- ature which Lake Erie diffuses upon the adjoining country has been valuable in an immense degree to the various agricultural and horticultural industries; orchards and vineyards thrive especially well in that locality. Ohio lies in the region where the best conditions of climate exist for the adapta- tion of vegetable and animal life. Situated in the temperate zone, the state falls entirely under the influence of a variable climate. And those variations of heat and cold, of moisture and dryness, within extremes not too great, have been important factors in 19 Sod and the development of vegetable and animal Chmaté Vite. There is an inspiration in changing seasons, the lovely springtime, with the summer that follows, bringing the warmth and moisture and sunshine which make the fruits of the soil abundant in this land, fitting rewards for our labor; and winter with its cold, exhilarating influence, with its period of rest and renewal of vigor. In this respect, then, Ohio has a climate un- surpassed, with winters that are not severe, and summers that are not depressingly hot. The climatic conditions are favorable for the production of a wide range of vegeta- tion. Cereals of practically every nature, fruits of all descriptions, vegetables of nearly every variety, find cultivation on Ohio farms and gardens. ‘There are many picturesque and charming hills that are noted for their fruit; the mild and equable temperature of Lake Erie’s region is unsur- passed for its vineyards, while the hundred valleys, level and fertile, not only furnish the produce for Ohio’s people, but have to spare to feed the hungry mouths of other climes. Climatic conditions, with the fer- tile- soil, were what caused the extraordi- 20 nary development of animal and vegetable Soil and : . : ; Climate forms during the time of Indian ownership. TEMPERATURE. From the observations of the state weather bureau we have exact data for the last fifteen years on the weather con- ditions of the state. We also have records extending over a period of forty years that give a close idea of the normal conditions. The observations of G. A. Hyde! of Cleve- land are especially interesting. Since 1855 he has kept careful records of the tem- perature, rainfall and snowfall, the winds and sky. From his observations we find that during the period there is no uniform deviation from the normal, and no gradual change of seasons as so many people are inclined to think. The average tempera- ture for the forty years is 49.3°; the high- est temperature observed in the vicinity of Cleveland was 99° on August 12, 1881, while the lowest temperature was 20° below zero, January 29, 1873. We find by dividing this period of forty years into decades, that the average temperature of 1¥Forty Years’ Record of the Weather, by G. A. Hyde. 2I Soiland the first was 49.58°; the second, 48.42°% Climate the third, 49.46°; and the fourth, 49.34°. From the State Weather Bureau, we find during a period of fifteen years the mean temperature is 50.5°; the highest, 108°, July 18, 1887, at Pomeroy; the lowest, 34°. below zero January 25, 1684, 0 Sidney. Range of temperature 142°; mean daily range, 21.3°; greatest daily range, 60° on October 19, 1894, New Waterford ; lowest range, O° January 13, 1892, New Holland; and February 7, 1895, at Kilbourne. The warmest month is July and the coldest January. PRECIPITATION. From the observations of Mr. Hyde on the amount of rainfall, melted snow included, during the forty years of his observations, we get the following interest- ing facts: The greatest fall in one day or twenty-four hours was 4.67 inches, Sep- tember .12 and 13, 1878., The (ereqmaee fall in one month was 10.33 inches in June, 1855. The least fall in one month was 0.25 inches m February, 1877.) ee 22 greatest fall in one year was 49.66 inches S07 and in 1878. The least fall in one year was ee 25.28 inches in 1856. The average rain- fall and melted snow for forty years is 38.08 inches. From the State Weather Bureau we get the following averages for the state: The number of days that rain fell during the last fifteen years was 125; mean yearly rainfall, 37.87; mean daily rainfall, 0.10; greatest rainfall at Demos in 1890, 65.39 inches; least rainfall, 20.38 inches, Pome- roy, 1894; with a mean monthly rainfall of 3.14 inches. The rainfall for the grow- ing seasons is not always sufficient to furnish water enough for the maturity of the crop, which makes it essential to con- serve the moisture that is taken in the soil during the other months. SNOWFALL. Mr. Hyde notes the most remarkable snow-storm, in his record of forty years, to have occurred January 31, 1878, between the hours of 4 A. M. andg Pp. M., in which time there fell twenty-two inches of snow. During the time of the observation the first 23 Soiland snow fell September 30, 1888, and the Chmaté atest November 29, 1865. Of the Wager snowfall of the season, the latest occurred May 9, 1885, and the earliest March 24, 1878. The greatest snowfall for any season occurred during the winter of 1880- ‘Or when ‘101.8 inches fell. ~The tease snowfall of any season occurred during the winter of 1865-66, when but 22.6 inches fell. The average snowfall during the forty years was 54.4 inches. For the average condition of the weather proper of the state during the past fifteen years, we find that the number of clear days, fair days, cloudy days, and rainy days, per month, was ten each. JDuring the forty years’ period the prevailing direction of the wind was from the southwest. As to the state of the general climatic conditions, little needs to be said. ‘There seems to be no change in temperature, amount of snow, and change of seasons. The destruction of forests, however, has had some effect on the prevalence of floods and their distribu- tion. 24 IcE, FRosT, AND STORMS. Soil and Climate The formation of ice from three to six inches occurs in all sections every year, and sleighing and skating are possible in nearly every section of the state. The northern part of the state never fails in its ice crop. Frosts are usual, especially in the sec- tion south of the lake to the line where the climate is affected in a favorable way. Hundreds of acres of fruit trees and often the cereals are entirely destroyed by frosts. Summer storms, too, are frequent, and the occasional winter storm is not uncom- mon. Periods of excessive rainfall are not unknown, when great floods have inflicted great losses on both farms and prosperous towns. 25 CHAP BER IT INDIAN AGRICULTURE The Ohio Indian was not an agricultur- ist; he regarded the cultivation of the soil as degrading. Yet he found it necessary to cultivate the soil to obtain a living, and he put the task upon the old women and the children. It is customary to speak of the Indian as subsisting by the chase, but this is true only to a limited extent. More than half of them cultivated the soil, and in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys quite well and extensively. Up to 1776 the entire land of Ohio was in possession of the Indian tribes. No white men were permanently within this Indian land, and those who were roaming about within the borders were known only as enemies, and their presence meant war. The most powerful tribe and honest were the Wyandots, who occupied the fertile and level region of the Sandusky river, where they held the undis- puted right to the northern part of the state. In the rich valleys of the Tuscarawas and Muskingum were the camping grounds of 26 the Delawares, whose power gave them possession of nearly half of the state. The Scioto and Miami country furnished the beautiful valley homes of the Shawnees ; the fame and power of whose brave war- riors were extended even to the civilized courts, so that the French found efficient allies during the Seven Years’ War. Piqua and Chillicothe are named from two of the four sub-divisions of this powerful tribe. The Chippewas and the Ottawas occupied portions in the northern part of the state. These tribes were the occupants of Ohio while the white men were building up a civil society in the East, and the former had little disturbance from the latter. Here they roamed and hunted, and tilled their little fields and made love and war at pleas- ure, little conscious of the approaching troubles and doom! Though the Indian was lazy and careless he exercised more forethought about his corn crop than any- thing else. Insome parts of the state along the river banks and valleys where trees were not abundant, were found the corn- fields of the Indians; back in the hills and forest areas the Indian found it necessary 27 Indian Agricul- ture Indian Agricul- ture to clear out a part of the trees for his fields. This was done by belting the trees near the roots, through the sap wood. ‘This would soon destroy the trees so that enough sun- light would enter to produce the corn crop. During winter the branches would drop to the ground, and in the springtime the women and children would gather them to- gether and burn them as the first prepara- tion for the crop. Thus rid of its rubbish, the ground was then gone over with rude hoes made of stone, or a crooked stick, or even the bone of an animal, and put in condition for planting. We find reference in Colonel Smith’s diary that on planting, a crab or fish from the stream was caught and put in the hill over which was placed the kernels of corn. In many places the doing or not doing of this meant a yield or failure of the crop. It was necessary then for the embryonic farmers to keep watch of their crops throughout the entire growing season. Birds were legion then, and with- out careful and continued vigilance on the part of the faithful and persistent squaws, total destruction from their ravages would no doubt have resulted. 28 The Indian practised deep cultivation. /~diax The idea of shallow and level cultivation ne was as foreign to him as to thousands of the farmers of Ohio to-day. He carried the matter a little further, however, hilling the corn as high as two feet!. The corn was plucked before fully ripe and a careful selection of the seed corn was made from the stalks that contained the largest and most perfect ears. How fortunately and yet unconsciously they were following out the idea of selection! After the corn was husked it was packed in birchbark boxes and buried in holes in the earth for future use. Many writers have told-us that these underground barns were carefully concealed by the women, lest the lazy and thoughtless husbands and sons should discover and eat up the contents. These dirty, lazy, contemptible husbands and sons were the only hogs the Indians had, history tells us, and they would often root open the doors and in their gluttony eat the whole of the hard-earned larder ina day. Indian corn was the chief product raised by the Indian, and many references are 1 Taylor’s History of Ohio, page 99. 29 Indian Agricul- ture made by the early travelers and of the war parties through Ohio to the fields of corn. Along the banks of the Ohio and in the valleys of the Scioto, the Sandusky and Maumee rivers, the Muskingum and Mi- amis were many acres of this product raised. The usual method of preparation was to pound the corn into coarse meal or swell hominy and then boil in water, making a thickened soup, without salt or anything else™ Another method was to mix with the hominy, peas, beans, and fish and flesh of all sorts, either newly taken or dried, veni- son, bear’s flesh, moose, otter, or raccoon, cut into small pieces, with nuts, acorns, pumpkins, and squashes?. During the roasting-ear season the hunt- ers became exceedingly lazy, and spent their whole time in singing and dancing. They were unconsciously fulfilling the Scripture, beyond those who profess to believe them, in taking no thought of the morrow. Colonel Smith, in the account of his captivity, says that roasting ears 1Taylor’s History of Ohio, page 99. 2 Bolles’s Industrial History of the U.S. page 3. 30 and the food they got from the Indian corn lasted them until October in this state; after that time they turned to fowl- ing. Geese, ducks, sevans, and cranes came from the north and alighted on the inland bodies of water, without number and innumerable, and the streams fur- nished abundant fish and fowl, both in spring and fall. But while corn was the chief product raised by the Indians, it was not the only one by any means. They cultivated and collected several fruits and vegetables. Among their corn were planted peas and beans, the corn stalks answering the pur- pose of brush to support the vines. Pump- kins and squashes were also grown, and reached a fair degree of development on Ohio soil. Both of these were planted in the corn, as is the practice of many farm- ers of to-day. Bolles makes mention of a kind of muskmelon, though very inferior in quality. Though wild grapes, wild cherries, and plums grew almost in abun- dance, in the wild state, where the Indian towns were permanent, trees and vines were set apart and the fruit often dried 31 Indian Agricul- ture whic for winter use. Other wild fruits flour- oo ~ ished here, and were great sources of food. In Smith’s account of his captivity with the Ohio Indians in 1755-59, he makes mention of some observations of their agri- cultural life. While not at all agricultural, they made use of all edible foods they could find. The potato was largely culti- vated by the Indians in this state.’ It, with Indian corn, was easily cultivated, and furnished a comparatively large amount of food. Colonel Smith, in 1755, speaks of potatoes growing spontaneously, and de- scribes them as a kind of rough brown potato, very palatable and _ nourishing. This was probably the Jerusalem §arti- choke, which answers Colonel Smith’s description, for it is improbable that either Irish or sweet potatoes were ever cultivated by the Indians in this state. The Indians would peel the so-called potatoes, and dip them in raccoon’s fat before eating. They would have a taste, when prepared this way, really like our own sweet potatoes. The dried green corn mixed with beans was used by almost every tribe in the state. 1 Shaler’s The U. S. of America, page 245. 32 During the captivity of Colonel Smith dian he was nearly all the time in southern pili: 4 Ohio. Speaking of the soil in that section, he says:! ‘* The land is generally good; chiefly first or second rate, and compara- tively little or no third rate. The only refuse is some swamps, that appear to be too wet for use, yet I apprehend that a number of them if drained would make excellent meadows. The timber is black oak, walnut, hickory, cherry, black ash, white ash, water ash, buckeye, black and honey locust, sugar tree, and elm; there is also some land where the timber is chiefly white oak or beech—this may be calied third rate. In the bottoms, and also many places in the upland, there is a large quantity of wild apple, plum, and red and black haw trees. It appeared to be well watered and plenty of meadow ground, intermixed with upland, but no large prai- ries or glades, that I saw or heard of. In this route, deer, bear, turkeys, raccoon appeared in plenty, but no buffalo, and very little sign of elks.” We see by Smith’s observations that 1 Colonel Smith’s Captivity, page 26-28. 33 Indian Agricul- ture cherry, crab apple, and plums were possi- ble foods for the Indians. Although the Indian was unacquainted with the sugar cane, he did not lack sugar, and often had it in large quantities. Quot- ing again from Colonel Smith, he says:? ‘‘In the month of February the Indians begin to make sugar.’ As some of the elm bark will strip at this season, the squaws often finding a tree that will do, cut it down, and with a crooked stick, broad and sharp at the end, take the bark off the tree, and of this bark make vessels in a curious manner that hold about two gallons each; they make about one hun- dred of this kind of vessels. In the sugar tree they cut a notch sloping down, and at the end of the notch strike in a tomahawk ; in the place where they struck the toma- hawk they drive in a long chip, in order to carry the water out from the tree, and under this they set the vessel to receive it. As sugar trees were large and plenty here, they seldom or never notched a tree that was not two or three feet over. They also made bark vessels for carrying the water 1 Colonel Smith’s Captivity, page 37. 34 that would hold about four gallons each. “dan They had brass kettles that held about 797%" fifteen gallons each and other smaller ket- tles in which they boiled the water. But as they could not at all times boil away the water as fast as it was collected, they made vessels of bark, that would hold about one hundred gallons each, for re- taining the water; and though the sugar trees did not run every day, they had always a sufficient quantity of water to keep them boiling during the whole sugar season. ‘The way that we commonly used our sugar while encamped was by putting itin bear’s fat until the fat was almost as sweet as the sugar itself, and in this we dipped our roasted venison.” The above gives a good idea of the way in which the Ohio Indian obtained his sugar. This same process was afterward learned from the natives by the whites and resorted to by them. This method of obtaining sugar was practised by the majority of the Ohio tribes as well as throughout the whole region of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. Tobacco was everywhere grown through- 35 /ndian_ out the state and was as necessary to the va ieee Indian life as paint and the tomahawk. The Indian possessed no domestic animals except the dog, nor poultry of any kind. And he did not need the latter. The trees and groves were better for the culture of fowls than were the rude wigwams for shel- ter and protection. It is true that some tribes were in the habit of capturing vari- ous species of birds and animals and of taming them as pets, but as arule not for economic purposes. Thus the Indian lived on Ohio soil. He has left a record that cannot be forgotten. A creature of circumstance he has done the best he could. Though his agriculture was crude and undeveloped in form, yet it points that his civilization was not as low in the scale as many would have it. Shaler}? advances the reason of slow de- velopment of Indian civilization to be due to the fact that the Indian had no domesti- cated animals as beasts of burden. It is true he had the dog, which was common to all the Indian tribes throughout America. 1Shaler’s United States of America. Page 249. 2Shaler. Domesticated Animals. Page 218. 36 Its use was for the watch or an ally in hunting. It was a failure as a beast of burden to the red men. Domestication of animals in the thought of Shaler is the last stepping stone to perpetuity. The Ameri- can Indian never reached it. Ready to place the foot on its solid surface the white man came and the lone Indian had to grasp his weapons of defense, face about and pre- pare for the foe. ‘*‘ How thoroughly pre- pared,” says the same author, ‘‘ the Indians were for this step is evidenced by the alac- rity with which they welcomed the intro- duction of the horse, pig, sheep, and domestic fowls. That unaided they would ultimately have domesticated the American bison, cannot be doubted; for the bison though wild and intractable could with proper care and breeding in a compara- tively short time be made serviceable as a draft animal and also for its milk. It was of immense importance to the Indian in its wild state, but under domestication it would have proved a powerful factor toward civil- ization.” Ohio was an especially favorite land for the Indian. Fertile soil for the corn plant 37 Indian Agricul- ture Indian Agricul- ture and abundant game oninland lake and river, a land coveted and admired by red men and white men as a garden of second crea- tion. No wonder the white man struggled for it, and the Indian died rather than yield ! 38 CHAPTER. fl PEOPLE OF OHIO The first permanent settlement within the present limits of the state of Ohio was made in 1788. Many years prior to this attempts had been made to get people to emigrate into the valley of the Ohio. But Indian conflicts were many and frightful. The first mention we have of an attempt by white men in the way of exploration was that of Christopher Gist who in 1751 came over the mountains from the East, and crossed the Ohio river at about Pittsburg ; striking for the interior of Ohio and follow- ing a trail he passed the Muskingum river at Dresden where an Indian town was then located; crossing the Licking and Hock- ing rivers he traveled down the Scioto to the Ohio and from there down to North Carolina. The Indians received him peacefully and his acts caused the Indians to feel a kind and friendly disposition toward the white man. No settlement fol- lowed, however, as permanent till 1788, when the Ohio company made its purchase 39 People of Ohio at Marietta. The years of hostilities had passed and emigration to the new country began. ‘The active spirit of the new move- ment was free to the impetus and the living column steadily took its Western course, till the vast region should be possessed and populated. After the beginning was made the inflowing tide of newcomers was rapid. Every part of New England furnished its quota, and New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia contributed to swell the tide of emigration as it rolled across the borders to the promised: land ‘of the “Wess ‘¢ Never,” says an early writer, ‘‘ since the golden age of poets did the siren song of peace and of farming reach so many ears and gladden so many hearts as when the hostilities in the Ohio land had ceased, and the prospect of taking up homes there was possible.”’ The Ohio, as it is called, seemed to be literally a land flowing with milk and honey. The farmer wrote home of a soil richer to appearance than can possibly be made by art; of plains and meadows with- out the labor of hands, sufficient to support millions of cattle summer and winter; of wheat lands that would vie with the island 40 ———- of Sicily; and of bogs from which might /op/e be gathered cranberries enough to make a tarts for all New England; while the law- yer said that while on his circuit his horse’s legs were dyed to the knees with the juice of the wild strawberry. Such was the report of the fertile lands and pleasant climate of the Ohio land. Emigrants fast came in. South, East, North, and West received their share. The country where- ever they went to plant their homes was covered with dense forests, and the echo of the axes was the first sound of civilized industry in all the regions. The bluffs and bottoms and hills were covered with hickory, walnut, ash, poplar, and other trees indicative of good soil. And as the valley stretched out from creek to river the gigantic sycamore loomed up in view, thick set, and lofty from lake to river boun- dary. Pioneer life is prominent in the his- tory of every state@and country, and the mission of the pioneer is great and noble. If for one reason Ohio is a great state, it is because of the greatness of her early peo- ple. Their monument is the state itself, glowing and peering in all its sublimity, AI People of Ohio glorious because of the unselfish lives of the heroes of early Ohio life. We quote? the following as typical of the Ohio pioneer’s home: ‘‘The first business of each settler was to make a little clearing and erect a log cabin, which was built of unhewed logs, poles, and clapboards, puncheons, and in those days wooden pins instead of nails. In its erection, no tools were necessary except an axe, an auger, and perhaps a cross-cut. Straight trees of the proper size were cut down and either drawn by a team or carried with the assistance of neighbors, to the building spot. The logs, being cuts of proper lengths, were notched and laid up somewhat as children build cob-houses. If a large or double cabin was desired the logs were laid up to form two square pens, with an open space between connected by a roof above and a floor below, so as to form a parallelogram nearly three times as long as wide. In the open space the family sometimes took their meals in pleasant weather, and it served the triple purpose of kitchen, lumber room, 1 History of Athens County by Walker, pages 114-116. 42 and dining-room. The roof was covered /ople with thin splits of oak, something like staves, about four feet long, from four to six inches wide, and about one third of an inch thick. Instead of being nailed, these staves or clapboards were generally con- fined in their places by heavy timbers, laid at right angles across them, giving the roof a unique and rough appearance. A doorway and windows were made by chopping out the logs of proper length and height before laying them up, so as to make suitable apertures. The doors were made of thin clapboards, split, like the roofing, from fresh cut timber, and were generally hung in the ingenious fashion on large wooden hinges, and fastened with a substantial wooden latch. Frequently the latch was raised from the outside by a small leather string attached to it, and passing through a hole from within. When the string was drawn in the latch could not be raised from the outside nor the door opened; hence the western expression to signify hospitality, that ‘the latch string is always out.’ Into the window apertures, small pieces of wood were fitted for sash 43 Of Ohio People of Ohio and upon them paper was pasted and rendered translucent by oiling. Wooden shutters made of staves, like the doors, were attached to the windows and closed at night. The floors, when any were used, were made of short, thick plank, split from poplar, walnut, or oak. In some cases the more wealthy settlers had logs hewed on the inside and the puncheon floor hewed and planed. For a fireplace and chimney a space about six feet was cut out of the end of the cabin, the lower part of the chimney built of rough stones, and the rest laid up with small logs and flat pieces like laths, cemented with clay mortar, well intermixed with short cut straw or hay. The chimney had a huge aperture, and tapered up like a pyramid. The hearth was made of clay mortar or sometimes a large slab of sandstone. Finally the spaces between the logs were filled with timber, split like firewood, from some soft tree, and made impervious to wind and rain by daubing the cracks with mud. A few chairs and stools, and a bedstead of poles, interlaced with bark, and furnished with plenty of bear skins, a table split from 44 a large log, and some cooking and eating /ople utensils, constituted, perhaps, the bulk of ah OE the furniture within. Though rude in struc- ture and limited in accommodations, they answered the charming places of home.” Not only have their walls sheltered rural plenty, manly independence, guileless honesty, contentment, and happiness, but they have been the birthplace of men and women who have left their impress on the age in which they lived. No more charm- ing picture of honest industry and unal- loyed happiness can be imagined than was afforded by the interior of these rude cabins. When the winter wind blew, and the shutters were barred, and the walls of hewed logs showed the white lines of plaster which marked the _ interstices; when the fire blazed high from the wide, open chimney, illuminating the stores of dried meats or vegetables which hang from the rafters, and the rustic table, around which are gathered the happy and healthy family, smokes with woodland plenty—at such a time no one could doubt that even _ these primitive log cabins were compatible with real and profound enjoyment. 45 People of Ohio When the state was settled such glowing accounts of its soil and climate and possibili- ties were scattered about, that people flocked to her borders, and the territory of Ohio became in a short time one of the most populous, wealthiest, and most respected of America’s territories. Her prosperity and wealth is due in a degree to the advantages given in rich profusion by nature; but a great part is due to the character of the first settlers; the right impulse which they gave the institutions of the commonwealth, the well directed energy with which that impulse was followed by their successors, and to the hardy and industrious character of the population that streamed in from the other states. Surely the people of Ohio had forefathers worthy to be founders of this new empire. ‘The pioneers who first pene- trated and opened up the wilderness within the limits of this state were a hardy, adventurous race of men and women, inured to toil, possessed of courage, steady energy, and strong practical common sense. The suffering of pioneer life and human 46 foe, the privations and the hazardous dan- /ople of Ohio gers could not have been endured by any other class. Their declaration in the bill of rights that ‘‘ neither slavery nor involun- tary servitude” should exist upon the soil of Ohio had much to do in making the millions of free, industrious, intelligent citi- zens of their well directed and constant labor to add to the wealth of the state and the prosperity and happiness of the people. This freedom of every creature had much to do with strengthening the bold, free thought and action of the people. The early pioneers were not favorable to the formation of large settlements. ‘These would be hurtful to the success of their fav- orite pursuit. The backwoodsman, as a rule, had improvements confined in extent to a rude log cabin; a small piece of ground _ cleared and fenced for raising Indian corn ; a horse, a cow, a few hogs, and some poultry comprised the live stock. The fur- ther operations were performed with the rifle. If the number of settlers increased these backwoodsmen moved further into the interior until about 1820, when the state became fairly occupied, the continued 47 People of Ohio change of homes was abandoned, and a higher state of agriculture began. Now an orchard was planted, and _ livestock became more numerous than that of the backwoods predecessor, but the great trouble was the inferior quality of all the livestock, until the infusion of new and pure blood by the importation of later years. The agriculture of this time was crude and undeveloped, and the Ohio occu- pant was just preparing the conditions for the larger scale of work when the era was to begin. From 1810 to 1820 few new developments were made and data of the agricultural condition rare and unsatisfac- tory. At this time deer, bears, wild tur- keys, and in a word, almost every variety of game was abundant, and the farmer’s family enjoyed game in its season to a greater extent than they do at present the flesh of domestic animals. For with the rifle’s aid the tillage, care, and curing of many an acre of corn and grass was saved. The rifle was the most indispensable neces- sity about the house, not so much as pro- tection from the Indians, but as a means of furnishing food, and the gunsmith was 48 more important than the blacksmith. In People many localities the female portion of the farmer’s family was as good a shot as the males.! From 1810 to 1820 farming con- sisted in clearing the land, sowing a few acres of wheat, a few of corn, buckwheat, flax, oats, and potatoes. During? this period wheat declined to the minimum price of 25 cents per bushel; corn, 12 to 15 cents; oats, 10 cents; potatoes, Io to 12 cents per bushel; the price of a cow was six to eight dollars; of a horse, twenty-four to forty ; and other products in like ratio. Speaking of the work done, Flint says,? ‘‘Farming establishments in Ohio are small. Most cultivators do everything by themselves, even to the fabrication of their agricultural implements. Few hire others permanently, it being difficult and expen- sive to keep laborers for any great length of time. They are not servants, all are hired hands. ‘The utensils used in agriculture are not numerous. ‘The plow is short, clumsy, and not calculated to make either deep or neatfurrows. The harrow 1s triangular and 1Qhio Agricultural Report, 1859, page 475. 2 Ohio Agricultural Report, page 468. 8 Flint’s Letters from America. 1818. 49 of Ohio People of Ohio is light. Articles are carried on horseback ; heavy ones by a coarse sledge, a cart, or wagon. The smaller implements are the axe, the pickaxe, and the cradle, scythe— by far the most commendable backwoods apparatus.” The grain cradle is described at great length by this traveler, in that it is a val- uable implement. In his travels through Pennsylvania he did not see it, and so was inclined to the opinion that it is an Ohio implement. In 1820 there were not half a dozen points in Ohio where wheat could be sold for cash; and corn and rye could not be sold as a commodity at all. So it was converted into whiskey, and during the period of 1820 to 1826 a large amount of corn and rye was made into this beverage. The trouble was, no outlet for the agricul- tural products. People knew they could dispose of the surplus if they had markets, and as the completion of the Erie canal approached, strangers having heard of the haven land here, poured into the state. Many coming from old states where agri- culture had been better developed, brought with them experience and knowledge, in- 5° dustry, frugality, and perseverence. From 1826 to 1836 large numbers immigrated to this state. Almost every one purchased a farm, of from sixty to one hundred and sixty acres. In the hands of this later class of immigrants the resources of the state very rapidly developed. From the very first opening of the state to settlers there was continual inflowing of immigrants. Josiah Espy'in his observa- tions through the state in 1805, says, ‘‘ The people of Ohio have come from nearly every state in the union, but chiefly from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and during the present year I have good reason to conclude that from twenty to thirty thousand souls have entered the state for the purpose of making it their future residence. At the present time the inhab- itants of the state of Ohio, being so lately collected from all states, have as yet, obtained no national character. ‘¢In traveling through this immense and beautiful country, one idea, mingled with melancholy emotions, almost continually 1 Ohio Valley Historical Collection, page 23. SI People of Ohio People of Ohio presented itself to my mind, which was this: !That for many years the people of that great tract of country would separate themselves from the Atlantic states and establish an independent empire. The peculiar situation of the country and the nature of the men will gradually lead to this crisis.” What a mistake the observer made. Along with the industry, knowledge, re- ligion, which the early settlers brought with them was government and _ patriot- ism. Where have you found a more law- abiding people ; what primitive citizenship, more conservative and conscientious; or a mission filled better than by the pioneer settler of Ohio. What state can show a record so clear, or a galaxy of names so lustrous in defense of that union which our observer had thought Ohio able to destroy. The patriotism of her brave men, the loyalty of her women, worthy descendants of noble pioneers, is to-day proverbial. 1 Ryan—A History of Ohio, Ohio in War, page 162. 52 SHAPTER IV CANALS, RAILROADS, AND TURNPIKES Internal improvements did not begin in Ohio at a very early date. Before 1832 there was no means of transportation, ex- cepting a national road and ships on the northern and southern borders, rafts on the rivers, and the rude ox- and horse-carts, over impassable, unmade roads. With this state of affairs it could not be expected there would be much or any advance in agricul- ture. Livestock could be driven to market though very unsatisfactorily; but wheat, corn, and other products could not receive any improvement and development when they could not be taken to market, no mat- ter how much they were in demand there. With the opening of the Erie canal the first real and strong impulse was given to the agriculture of the state. Even before its completion the realization had come to all that progress was now certain. Ohio with her splendid climate and fertile soil could furnish abundance to the country if only 53 Canals, Rail- roads, and Turn- pikes means were provided for transporting it. That realization came in 1832, and then our agriculture proper began. The history of the transportation in the state is divided by the course of events into three periods. From the time of the first settlement until the completion of the Ohio canal in 1832, during which there were no artificial ways to facilitate the transportation of the farm products of the state, is the first. The second period, from 1832 to 1852, was distinguished by the National road, extending from Cumberland city, Mary- land, to Zanesville. The remarkable pros- perity arising from the eight hundred miles of canals in the state, and ultimately the introduction of railroads and their ascend- ency as a means of transportation in 1852, when they had accomplished through lines from the leading cities of the state to the great commercial cities of the East. From 1852 to the present time railroad transportation has been a large factor in the prosperity of Ohio, and may be prop- erly considered the third period. During the first period the principal means of communication between Ohio and 54 the Eastern states was by pack horses.! Roads were made and improved from year to year when Pennsylvania wagons drawn by from four to six horses were seen. The early common roads had been made where nature offered the least resistance. During the early days no attempts were made to improve them. Where they crossed streams of the smaller sizes, they were forded. Even as late as 1830 there were but few bridges over the larger streams of the state. These roads were moderately good during eight months of the year, but the winter season found them quite impassable. The turnpike road was the next step. The first one in this state extended from Warren, Trumball county, to Lake Erie. Another turnpike, one hundred and six miles in length, extended from Columbus to Sandusky city. One from Cincinnati to Zanesville through Chillicothe and Lancas- ter. Another from Perrysburg to San- dusky. An excellent turnpike road was made from Cincinnati to Springfield, through Lebanon, Waynesville, and Xenia. These and a few other minor ones made 1 Howe’s History of Ohio, Vol. I, page 106. 55 Canals, Razl- roads, and Turn- pikes Canals, Rail- roads, and Turn- pikes up the turnpike roads of the state as late as 1840. So difficult was travel in these days that our National government entered upon a scheme of national improvements. Of these the National road, or Cumberland road, was one. It commenced at Cumberland in Maryland, running thence westward to the Ohio river, through Pennsylvania, and thence through central Ohio. The first appropriation was in 1806, when Congress voted $30,000 to make a survey of route and report. It was subject to approval of the president. Having gained that, appropria- tions were made from time to time thereafter, until 1838, when a little over three millions of dollars had been expended in this work. About 1825 the people of eastern Ohio began the use of this great route, its first artificial means for the transportation of its commerce. This great road opened the way through the mountain barriers of the Allegheny range, and made level a way for the com- merce of the East, and for the pioneer and his family, who were seeking homes in the wilds of Ohio andthe farther West. It was 56 the first great movement of the people in Canals, the direction of internal improvements. mee The progress in building the National road and was slow. An appropriation was made Beis March 2, 1825, for extending it westwardly from Zanesville. It had a great deal to do with the great prosperity of Ohio, and the opening of the new era in the history of the state by the marks distinctly made when canal construction was begun. The introduction of steamboats upon our rivers and lakes quickened the enterprise of the people, and various schemes for facilitating the transportation of freight were discussed everywhere throughout the state. The Muskingum was navigable’ 150 miles. and by a portage of five miles from a small lake at its head, a line of communication was formed into the Cuya- hoga, thence into Lake Erie. 3 The Hocking river was navigable for sixty miles, with the exception of a few falls and dams. The Scioto was navigable 150 miles with but a few obstructions, which were passable in high waters. The Great Miami was navigable for 125 miles, and a 1Qhio Railway Report, 1881, page 123. 57 Canals, Lail- roads, and Turn- pikes portage of five miles communicated with the Maumee and thence to the lake. With the lake on the north of the state, the river on the south, and these meagre tributaries, were formed the only ways of commerce enjoyed by the people of Ohio during the first period of transportation. At this time no artificial roads had been made; canals had not been thought of; the rivers, as above described, at the most were hazard- ous at all times, always tedious, and often impracticable. Nothing but necessity prompted the inhabitants to engage in commerce. The farmer had no motive to increase the products of his fields beyond the wants of his family. The ‘‘new- comers’? or immigrants created the only demand which existed in the interior settle- ments for the surplus products of agricul- ture.1 As early as 1815 public opinion was turned toward water courses for com- merce. The want of a permanent navi- gable water communication between Lake Erie and the Ohio river had long been felt. Private individuals had endeavored to get a charter for the company to make 1 Burnett, “ Notes of the Northwest.” 58 such a canal, but all had failed. The tide of public opinion began to move, however, in the direction favorable to public owner- ship of such a canal as early as 1820, and to Micajiel T. Williams! of Cincinnati, a member of the legislature, who was the soul of the movement, credit for the early commencement of the canal is due. A bill was introduced into the general assem- bly on the 6th day of December, 1821, and became a law the 31st of January there- after. By the passage of the act, commis- sioners were appointed, whose duty it was to employ an engineer to examine the country and report on the practicability of making a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. These commissioners em- ployed Hon. James Geddes of Onondaga county, New York, as expert engineer, who arrived at Columbus in the month of June, 1822. These commissioners them- selves assisted in the examination, and de- voted nearly all their time to the service. It was finally decided early in 1825 to extend the route, commencing at Cleveland and ending at Portsmouth, on the Ohio river. 1 Executive Documents. 1820-1825. a Canals, Rail- roads, and Turn- pikes Canals, Rail- roads, and Turn- pikes They also determined on making a canal from Cincinnati to Dayton, on the Great Miami river. In the meantime a board of canal commissioners had been created by law, and a stock had been created, and these fund commissioners had borrowed money in Newport city sufficient to begin the excavation of the canals and carry on the work the first year. -All this being done, David S. Bates as chief engineer and several assistants were appointed, and work on the Ohio canals was begun at once. The total disbursements on canals! up to December 1, 1832, amounted 46 $5,163,025.24. The aggregate length of navigable canals constructed and owned by the state at that time, amounted to four hundred miles, comprising 184 lift locks, overcoming a total ascent and descent of 1,547 feet; nine guard locks; twenty-two aqueducts; 214 culverts, 182 of which were of stone masonry, sixty of wood; nine dams for crossing streams, and twelve feeder dams. The main trunks of the Ohio and Miami canals have each a minimum 1 Reports of Canal Commissioners of Ohio. 60 breadth of forty feet at the water line, and pate twenty-six feet at the bottom, with four psy | feet depth of water. A larger proportion and of both, particularly the Ohio canal, is of pe much larger dimensions, having a breadth at water line varying from sixty to one hundred feet, and a depth of from five to twelve feet. In many places it even ex- ceeds, for considerable distances, these dimensions in both depth and breadth. It was a standing rule in the construction of the canals, to increase their dimensions beyond the minimum, in all places where it could be done without materially enhanc- ing the cost. The walls of the locks are of solid stone masonry, resting on floors, composed of timbers laid crosswise of the pit, covered with planks three inches in thickness, both in chambers and under the walls, and be- tween the walls with an additional floor of two-inch plank well joined and secured with spikes to the timbers on which they mecty Lhe face of the) walls: are’ of cut stone, laid in regular range work, and in line mortar, the whole wall grouted with the same material. The breadth of the 61 Canals, Rail- roads, and Turn- pikes locks is fifteen feet between the walls and the length of the chambers, being the face between the upper and lower gates, ninety feet, admitting boats seventy-eight feet in length, and fourteen feet ten inches in breadth, to pass freely through. Aqueducts were constructed with wooden trunks supported by pins of stone masonry which in the Ohio canal is the same char- acter as that used in the locks. The Ohio and Erie canal, extending from the Ohio river at Portsmouth to Cleve- land in Lake Erie, was finished in 1832. It is three hundred and nine miles long. This main canal has many other canals connected with it. The side cut leading from Lockbourne to Columbus is eleven miles long. Ascending the main canal at Carrollton, a side cut canal to Lancaster, the falls of Hocking and Altoona, is seventy- five mileslong. In Licking county a canal is made from the Miami trunk to Granville. Still ascending to Dresden we find the main canal is connected with the Muskingum river by a dam and lock. The next canal connecting to the main one is the Waldhoning canal at Roscoe. 62 Ascending to Bolivar in Tuscarawas county Canals, at the mouth of Sandy creek is a canal one ies: hundred miles in length. This canal con- and nects with the town of Beaver on the Ohio Birks river, thirty miles below Pittsburg. Start- ing from near Beaver is another canal to intersect the main canal near Akron. The Miami and Erie system canal extends from Cincinnati to Toledo, passing Middletown, Dayton, Piqua, etc. The following are the principal canals of the state, which were built at a cost in- cluding the different reservoirs as feeders, $15,967,650: Ohio canal : : : 334 miles. The Miami and Erie system aGia i i Hocking canal . : BB ii ie Waldhoning canal : aie et Muskingum canal Ok hea For twenty-five years these canals and waterways were the stimulating factors of our agriculture, commerce, and population. Farming communities increased and flour- ished where they had not before. The cereal crops increased in_ production and area many fold. Through their influ- ence small farms developed into large, pro- 63 Canals, Ratl- roads, and Turn- pikes gressive ones, towns were built and villages became cities, and agriculture and trade became profitable enterprises. The newly found markets for farm products added fifty and one hundred per centum to their prices, thus enlarging the field of agriculture and bringing wealth to the state by its exten- sion. Farming now began as a productive commercial industry that was to be devel- oped and make Ohio one of America’s leading agricultural states. The first railroad! made in this state, was finished in 1836 by the people of Toledo, a town some two years old then. The road extended westwardly into Michi- gan and was about thirty miles in length. A second railroad? extended from Cincin- nati to Springfield. This road followed the Ohio river up the Little Miami river, and then turned northwardly up its valley to Xenia, and passing the Yellow Springs reaches Springfield. Its total length was about ninety miles. The state owned one half of this road, individuals and the city of Cincinnati the other half. 1 Atwater’s History of Ohio, page 279. 2 Atwater’s History of Ohio, page 279. 64 As soon as railroads were begun char- ters were given for numerous other rail- roads, but many of these were never made, because of the want of enterprise and pub- lic spirit. From 1852 when there were 890 miles of railroad in operation, until 1869, when there were 3,324 miles, there was great activity in the building of railroads in Ohio. The increase of miles of railroad in the state is as follows: 1838 : : d . 30. ~—smiilies.« 1853 : ; ‘ ‘ Mae Ee 1 es 1858 : ; Sade Fy (on “ 1880 i ; : : + 25,054 of 1896 ; : : : #1 125596 ; In 1869 an important change! was ac- complished in railway management by the consolidation of railroads into through lines, connecting Chicago with the Atlantic cities. The act providing for consolidations was passed by the Ohio legislature in 1851 and was perhaps the earliest act of the kind in any of the states. Many minor consolida- tions of railroads took place prior to the 1 Ohio Railroad Report, 1881, page 135. 65 Canals, Ratl- roads, and Turn- pikes Canals, Razl- roads, and Turn- pikes formation of through lines. The first of the through lines was formed by the exe- cution of a lease between the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway com- pany and the Columbus, Chicago & In- diana Central Railway company, dated January 22, 1869, to take effect February I, 1869. The Pennsylvania Railway com- pany was the third party to the contract. This was the first line formed between Chi- cago and the sea-coast.1 In December, 1869, the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chi- cago Railroad company was added to this ; and the same year the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern was added, making the third through line. In 1874 the Baltimore & Ohio was added, forming the fourth through line. ‘*These long lines unbroken in their management are practically arrangements for the more economical, commodious, safe, and perfect operation of several lines of railroads.” These lessened the cost of freight and had a material effect upon the agricultural commerce of the state. Dr. Townshend says, ‘‘ The railroads appear to 1 Ohio Railroad Report, 1881, page 135. 66 have doubled the price of flour, trebled the Canals, price er pork, and quadrupled the price of ne corn.”’ and A century has given us a wonderful de- 7” velopment of transportation facilities. Ohio is no longer a state of isolated points. But her farms are connected to-day with fairly good roads and pikes, her towns and cities banded with the canal, railway, and electric road. Commerce is easy, cheap, and rapid. As long as there was no way to market the produce from the fertile farms, agriculture in the state was slow with no chance of development. But as soon as the touch of the canal and railway systems was made, the impulse acted like the magician’s wand, converting in a mo- ment the industries of Ohio, from their un- developed, unimproved conditions, into a profusion of wealth, greatness, and prosper- Ous SUCCESS. 67 CHAPTER V PRINCIPAL FARM CROPS The history of farm crops in Ohio, like that of the livestock of the state, has been one of gradual development. While some are of general importance, others have a sectional history only. The early settlers brought with them seeds of all kinds, for they intended to de- velop the agriculture of the state at once. With a soil of virgin fertility and a climate favorable in temperature and rainfall, do we wonder that in a half century Ohio rose to third in agricultural importance in the United States? The farmers of the state have directed their attention to the follow- ing principal crops: Wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, tobacco, grasses, potatoes, flax, hemp, sorghum, and the sugar beet. Neither history nor tradition tells us who first introduced the various crops into the state. We do know, however, they were brought with the pioneers, not to be grown for commerce, but as means of subsistence. From a few acres at first they became 68 spread over vast areas, and instead of fur- ?72ncz- nishing food alone for those who cultivated abi and grew them, they are now important Crops factors in commerce and international in importance. From the first, though in but a small degree, mixed farming was _ practised. The farms were small and undeveloped. The scientific idea to the Ohio pioneers was a foreign matter. They found everything in Ohio, the representative state of the West, new; as much so, perhaps, as did the New England colonists. The uncer- tainties, too, were very great. Their crops and their flocks were subject to ravages by new enemies. Likewise were the crops liable to such mishaps, for each had its preference for weather; each had its own possibilities of danger, each its own ene- mies, and each its own diseases. Practi- cally all the general farm crops found favorable climate and soil for their develop- ment in the state; yet each has experienced years of failure or years with bountiful har- vests. The farmers of the state were ener- getic from the first to introduce improved varieties of all, and the history of farm 69 Princi- pal Farm Crops crops in Ohio has been one of continual development and care. If the soil of the state had received from the farmers of the state the same careful treatment and exper- iment as the different farm crops, the agri- culture of the state would be quite different from what it is to-day. Crops of all kinds in the early history of the state could be produced with abundant yield at little effort. But that virgin fertility has been destroyed, and thousands of acres have become depleted, exhausted, and abused and to-day, as known by all, there are re- quired all the knowledge of science, and the care and painstaking efforts of practice to produce even moderate results. Wheat has always been extensively raised in this state, and as early as 1825 was the stable crop. One of the first! kinds of wheat cultivated in the state, and espe- cially in central Ohio, was the Red Chaff Bearded, which was introduced by the early settlers. It grew with a ‘‘ heavy crop of straw, short, plump berry, full bosom, full weight, and for a considerable time produced the most abundant crops.” 1 Ohio Agricultural Report, 1858, page 111. 79 Tradition says that it was not an uncom- ny mon thing for fifty bushels of this variety peso to be produced from one acre, on a small Crofs field. About 1838, being very susceptible to rust, it passed into disuse; so badly was it affected in its latter days, the last crops were often utterly worthless. A more hardy variety displaced it, known in these days as Velvet Chaff. This variety also grew a good straw, very long heads and a luxuriant beard, with a longer berry than the Red Chaff Bearded, and nearly as plump. It produced abun- dantly ; often from seventy to eighty grains were taken from a single head. It made very white, nice flour. For a short time this variety was the standard one, and ‘‘wheat growers thought their fortunes made,” but alas, the rust used up this variety also, it only producing two or three crops, after which there was so much effort made to produce it, and such utter failures that upon the whole its introduc- tion was a serious loss. About the same time a White Flint wheat was introduced, which produced well for a crop or two, but was soon abandoned on account of rust. 71 Princi- pal Farm Crops A variety called the Michigan wheat was introduced on the failure of the old Red Chaff, which produced a few good crops before it was destroyed by the rust. A lit- tle later, about 1845 or 1846, the Mediter- ranean variety was obtained, which had a ‘¢good growth of rather weak straw, but generally a sure crop, seldom if ever injured by rust, when sown early on good land well prepared.” For a long time this variety was sown, and has been worth mil- lions of dollars to the farmers of Ohio. The next varieties introduced were the Genesee and Malta, both of which soon became badly affected with rust and passed out of use. Other varieties came in their turn, to succeed or fail, and to-day we have several scores of varieties of this cereal. The returns of the acreage and yield of the wheat crops from 1850, when returns were made by law, to the present time, forms a very interesting theme of study as presented in the following table: 72 Average in Pyinci- Year. bushels. pal EosO . ; : ES aan ee 1855 ; ; j 4 ; . SESE ee neGo:..*, : ; , Lusk z.50 Be05, / > : ; : Ps ere) ra7o | .. : it 8 E.CO HAPS ote : athe G22 OOO.) ; 2 : b R $ip17.20e £590.) é ; : :